Lead is highly toxic, especially to children. The last place it should be is in the drinking water at schools where they go to learn, grow and play.

Lead is highly toxic, especially to children. The last place it should be is in the drinking water at schools where they go to learn, grow and play.

On April 23, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the nation's second-largest, took an important step to protect its children from lead exposure. Officials voted to spend $15 million to retest all their drinking water outlets and fix or replace fountains that test positive for at least 5 parts per billion of lead.

“Every parent wants the assurance that the water at school is safe for their children to drink,” said Emily Rusch, executive director of CALPIRG Education Fund. “Los Angeles Unified’s latest investment to address lead in drinking water is undeniably a step forward for children’s health.”

This commitment will benefit the nearly 700,000 students who are part of LAUSD and sets an example we hope other districts will follow.

Photo: CALPIRG Education Fund organizer Ryann Lynn released our national network's "Get the Lead Out" report in March 2019, which gave California a C+ for its efforts to eliminate lead from school drinking water. Photo Credit: Tommy Ton